Triathlon Continued

As I mentioned in my previous post I started racing again and enjoyed it more than I thought I would! This continued to the point that I opted to update my 10 year old Trek for a stunning Liv Envie Advance 1 on sale at the end of the bike season with 40%. It's a far more stunning bike than I deserve. A crazy amount of aero design features, deeper set rims than I've ever had, carbon, carbon, carbon, skinny handle bars and adjustable brake leavers which are making a huge difference as I've never been able to reach my brakes easily before. The bike is a dream and I now actually enjoy cycling. 

We were already signed up for Laguna Phuket triathlon as a team with me doing the swim, my husband the bike and my HoD the run. The swim was fine, until I hit the lagoon. The lagoon is disgusting. I don't know what is in the water, but there is a thick layer of slime that you are swimming through that swirls around, smells bad and seems to hold the heat more than the ocean. It wasn't pleasant at all, but on finishing the swim and handing over the timing chip to my husband I was rather sad that I wasn't doing the whole race. I did however remember that Nai Thon hills are in the bike race and as these scare me so much there is not chance I would have made it around the bike anyway. 

The race went well. We all supported each other and had a lot of fun knowing we could just go hard and not worry about the other sections. It was nerve racking waiting for each other and checking the timing tracker for progress updates only to discover they had eliminated some of the tracking points, but left them on the online system. It was a great morning and we all had a great time.

The following week it was the Ironman 70.3 in Phuket. A race that is currently beyond me in the distance and again those Nai Thon hills. The Ironman corporation had put a sprint race on at the same time and I entered with some friends so that I could race again. Easy distance, easy course and an overcast day. 

The day before I checked out the swim and got surrounded by jellyfish with no way out. I have never seen so many and this made me incredibly nervous. On race day itself the swim went really well with me being the 3rd woman out of the water. The bike went well for me, despite the wet roads, but as I am still cautious on the bike I dropped back in the field a lot. The run is my worst leg and it showed. Slowest 5km I've ever run. The silver lining was that I completed the race in the time I had set for myself and managed to get 3rd in my age group.

2017 has been a great triathlon year for me, well a great 5 months of triathlon! Currently I am supporting my  husband with his Ironman training in the sessions I can keep up and letting him go on his own when I know my presence would hold him back. Let's see what 2018 brings for triathlon.

Back to Triathlon

I have always been a music geek. Always. Sports activities clashed with rehearsal and I certainly didn't feel inclined to spend any extra time with the PE teachers either. I did discover the gym and running when on study leave for my GCSE's. The only problem was this led to me needing surgery on both knees at the age of 18 and the surgeon told me running, cycling and high heels were now a thing of the past.

Swimming was all I could during recovery and it has always been something I actually enjoy and have some aptitude for. I didn't actually listen to the surgeon as much as I should and did start running and cycling. The idea of me doing triathlon came from my husband back when we had just started dating as he is an Ironman and very dedicated triathlete. I did race and it was ok. I wasn't in love with it as I am a diabolical runner and at the time I was riding the wrong type of bike.

Living in NZ I did continue until I got too scared on the roads, my husband was injured and I had no one to train with and I was forced into proper bike shoes that just freaked me out. China was no better as the roads were even scarier. Phuket roads scare me too, but there are country roads so I should have got back a lot sooner. What pushed me back in? Free entrance to a race that was being hosted in Trang for the first time. 

The race was 1 month after returning from our Summer holiday in the UK and Russia. Essentially this meant I had to get race ready in 1 month. I did a few sessions before we went on holiday and knew the swim would be easy. Managed the bike distance prior to the holiday, but it was slow and pushed the running. Thankfully my husband was willing to slow down and train with me at my pace to make sure I was ready.

When it came to the actual race the swim was an issue as there wasn't enough water to actually swim in. Most people waded round and others did dolphin dives to save their legs. The course didn't have proper buoys and there were ropes across where you needed to go. Thankfully the bike course was great. Some hills, none too big, and the absolute luxury of not having speed bumps everywhere as we do here in Phuket. I loved the bike. I took 30 minutes of my training time too. The run was fine, but something I'll always struggle with and the sand in my shoes was not helpful. 

One of the best things for me was finishing and not feeling achey and as exhausted as I had in the past. Even better was knowing so many people in the race so when we saw each other we could cheer each other on. Everyone I knew looked so happy to see me and I know I surprised quite a few people as they knew how little training I'd done and how petrified I normally am of cycling.

There were a coupe of downsides to the race. Although it was free there was prize money for age groups and overall. I wasn't expecting to win anything at all until I saw that I was the only person in the female overall and foreigner category. It turned out that there were 2 of us in this category on the day which was fine by me. What wasn't so nice was that no foreigners were allowed to race in their age group and that everyone else racing was eligible for our foreign category despite being registered in age group. The rules kept changing and the foreigners were constantly being made to feel like we shouldn't be there by the officials. All foreign males were told they had to start with the pro field regardless of age and swim time. Foreign females were changed from wave 1 to 3 at the last minute and we were even segregated in transition, although this didn't stop someone racking their bike in my spot and getting sand all over my towel that was to help clean my feet for the run. It was a shame when everyone you raced with was lovely and many of the foreigners racing have lived in Thailand for a long time.

Despite everything I really did have a great race and now I want to be back racing.

Koh Phayam

It seems funny to need a holiday when you live in Phuket, by the beach in a beautiful area. However getting away is more than the location. I need to be away from commitments, chores and anything else that I should do and could do as I'm at home. Songkran follows the Secondary Production and I really do need a holiday when it hits this time. 

We book 6 nights on Koh Phayam, also spelt Ko Payam or Ko Phayam or Koh Payam. A friend of ours recommended the island and they visit every year. Must accommodation doesn't have electricity until the evening and it is often supplied by a generator. If you can't live without AC you will struggle as places either don't have it or charge 600 - 1500baht per night for use of AC. The roads are small concrete slab covered tracks if you are lucky and are generally in major need of repair. If you haven't ridden a motorbike before you will have to start if you want to go anywhere and you need to love reggae to survive.

Driving from Phuket to Ranong should have taken under 4 hours. It didn't as there were multiple police checks along the route and we did stop for coffee. The speedboat ferry cost 350baht and takes about 40 minutes. Despite what you read online there are multiple operators that run at all times and you can just turn up. There are slow ferries twice a day that take 2 hours and cost about 200baht. We got the speedboat out and on arrival panic set in for most of us as the boat pulled up next to the pier and we were required to step onto the edge of the boat, stretch a foot up onto a tyre hanging from the pier and then to a metal ladder that it turns out was not actually attached the pier properly at all. Climbing up these 3 or 4 metres was actually rather worrying and most the passengers were experiencing the same feelings of fear, terror and panic at the prospect. We did all survive and no bags were dropped into the ocean. Hurray!

Getting to our hotel we had to take motorbike taxis. Not my favourite experience ever and I was definitely thrilled when we arrived at the resort. 

Whilst staying on Koh Phayam we relaxed, went to the beach, relaxed, went to another beach, ate, went to another beach, drank cocktails, relaxed etc. The beaches are beautiful and it was close to surf season. Sadly the waves weren't quite tall enough or breaking far enough away from shore to ride. We saw a flock of Hornbills amongst the trees, multiple eagles, climbing perch and monitor lizards. It was amazing. I was creative and calm, but I was ready to go home after my 4th night and it was the right decision.

The vegetarian food on the island was amazing. Cha Chai is incredible and I only wished that I would had been able to eat my way through more of the menu. Homemade bread was everywhere on the island and fresh healthy food was a staple requirement of all menus. Baan Nam Chaa is another great vegetarian restaurant. The only problem is that you can wait anywhere from 30mins - 2hrs for your food and even your drink.

You can't miss Hippy Bar with its odd driftwood structure that is reminiscent of a ship. Its presence completely transforms Buffalo Bay and it is ridiculously cool, quirky and the place to be. The recycled decorations and structure really make the place what it is.

Koh Phayam is ideal for a break from the world to recharge your batteries, be creative, eat and drink. 

Reflections of a year in Phuket.

Being offered a position in Phuket was a complete 'golden ticket' opportunity for my family and I. Back to the beach, the sun, the surf in low season and the amazing triathlon training opportunities for my husband. Phuket hasn't let us down. It has been an incredible year and I have learnt a lot during this time thanks to the amazing people around me.

Culture.

Adapting to a new culture is always a challenge. I confess to still feeling ignorant and am actually looking forward to the Thai cultural course I have to do during a weekend. Phuket is multicultural with 3 religions prevalent on the island; Islam, Buddhism and a version of Taoism. In some cases people cluster with others of their religion in a particular suburb and are incredibly devout. Others turn to their religion and festival time and are far more relaxed/flexible in keeping with the edicts of their religion. Still, multiple religions live side by side in peace.

Respect is a big part of the culture here. The greetings are friendly and warm where ever you go and if you wai first you are certainly looked upon more favourably. Small acts of kindness make a big difference. Keeping your cool when things aren't quite going so well is a little trickier. I had 90 minutes of nonstop phone calls from the car insurance company photographer and his nephew asking where I lived. That was a real test in patience which I'm fairly certain I failed as I handed the phone to my husband.

Beach Life.

I went through a phase of hating the beach. The sand getting everywhere and my own naive lack of appreciation for the beauty that was around me. Thankfully I got over this phase in my late teens and am very grateful to live near any body of water. 

The beaches here are diverse and we have a lazy tendency to go to the closest one, but perhaps away from the crowds by going to the national park at the far end. We started a tradition of going to the beach on a Friday afternoon as we know how easy it is to not appreciate where you live and get into the habit of not going. I go to a local yoga class and if I ask the other students when they last went to the beach most of them don't actually know.

Lots of small beach bars existed at every beach when we first arrived. Flimsy structures built from bamboo, woven mats and corrugated iron. The bars were cheap, cheerful and hired out sun-beds with the added bonus of drink service. It turned out that many of the bars were built on public land and should not have been there. Shortly after the King's Birthday all of the bars were demolished. The beach is now much clearer and I was happy to see people heading to the beach with picnics and in some cases bringing their own furniture to spend the afternoon together.

Many businesses still operate from the beaches. You can hire jet skis, surf boards, go parasailing and buy sarongs, jewellery and sunglasses from hawkers walking up and down the beaches if you are in a very touristy hotel rich spot.

Bella, our Labradoodle, is a beach fan as she used to play on the beach every day when we lived in New Zealand. Bella visits the beach every week and prefers to go around sunset as the crabs appear so that she can chase them around the sand. Unfortunately the beach hasn't always been a positive experience for Bella here as she got attacked by a pack of dogs one afternoon when playing frisbee. This hasn't stopped her being desperate to go and play in the sand and making the most ridiculous whiny noises on the drive to the beach. The shower when gets home is her least favourite part of the trip.

Teaching.

Teaching here has been a different experience to my international school in China. The school is well established and has a number of traditions. Of course there are still elements that are under development, but that is the case with every educational institute. One of the biggest differences for me is the student body. Thai students are allowed to attend the school and receive the same education as expat students. Classes can be predominantly Thai and this actually helps students develop their own awareness of the local culture. Another very big difference in the student body is the social status of many of the students. Many are from very successful and wealthy families. In some cases this has a negative impact on the attitude to education, but thankfully not in too many cases. 

There has been a lot of trust in teaching staff and the freedom provided around the development of the curriculum has been wonderful. Developing the units has been fun and being in such supportive environment has given me the time and enthusiasm to pursue my own interests and further professional learning. 

A Few Negatives.

Paper is as popular here as it was in China. A lot of paper needs to be processed every time you need to do something new, especially at the bank. Your personal documents need to be photocopied every time that you go too, despite the fact it was copied on the previous 10 occasions.

Road rules. They may exist but are not necessarily followed.

Road works. Highly popular throughout the island.

Settling In Again.

The settling in period is always expensive and frustrating when you have questions which you feel would be  a question too far for the person or people you have to help you. The language barrier is nowhere near as difficult and as Phuket is a tourist hub it is easy to get everything you could possibly want. Even when you move to somewhere beautiful and amazing you miss the people you knew before and those relationships. Sometimes you are sure that you are fine, everything is fine, the move is a success, but your brain is in overdrive and you are still working everything out. It takes times and that's ok.

Conclusion.

It's been a great year. I love the sunshine, the people, the teaching, the beach, the lifestyle and most importantly my husband and Labradoodle are happy.

Soi Ban Baat

I visited Soi Ban Baat recently in Bangkok. I tried to go to Soi Ban Baat in October with a dropped pin on a google map and serious determination. It didn't help. I tried again in December and was successful due to getting a taxi to Soi Ban Baat kindergarten and using a note from the hotel concierge so that I could ask for help.

Amazingly once you find the correct area everyone is excessively helpful! The Ban Baat community consists of 2 little alley ways with peoples homes and 4 artisans, that we discovered. Everyone wants to sell you a bowl so their neighbours and families are more than happy to direct you to the next craftsman or woman.

The artisans who work down Ban Baat  have been making the bowls for generations. One woman we spoke to was 65 years of age and a third generation artisan. Another woman we met had bottle rimmed glasses but still managed to do tiny detailed patterns around the edges of the bowls by hand. The patterns were repeating and somehow she managed to keep the pattern fairly accurate in all of the repeats.

All of the bowls are made from strips of steel that are then beaten together using an unusual tool that looked like a bent lug wrench. Either 6 or 8 pieces of steel are used and beaten into shape before being covered in a dark lacquer and heated over a naked flame. Everyone has their own unique steel and is more than happy for you to take photographs and look at their work. As my husband is a photographer it was great and the portraits shown here are all his work.

We of course ended up leaving Ban Baat with 2 beautiful bowls and are now in the process of slowly filling them with coins to donate to charity.

Loy Krathong 2015

This week I experienced my first Loy Krathong celebration. Each year the date of Loy Krathong moves dependent on the full moon and it also uses a traditional Thai calendar, rather than the western calendar. My understanding is that Loy Krathong is to thank the river god and apologise for making the water dirty, but it is also about letting go and moving forward, which I think is a great thing to do despite how hard it can be sometimes.

At my school students and staff can dress in traditional Thai clothing for the day and both the Primary and Secondary schools have a special assembly and time to make Karathongs. I teach in both Primary and Secondary, but ended up more involved with the Secondary celebrations due to having a Secondary tutor class and my timetable on the day itself. Scarily the Music department was asked to perform a Thai pop song, so I had a couple of days to get to grips with the pronunciation and sing in Thai. This also meant that I had to wear traditional Thai clothing. I'm not convinced that the outfit suited, but it could just be because they kept repeating that they needed to find a big size and there was only one big size left.

Students from the senior Thai classes offered some lovely performances and dances. There were also some quite comical moments that I'm hoping were intentional. Maybe the Music department performance was meant to be a comedy act. The assembly was well run and was more of a celebration of Thai culture than about letting go and moving forward, although the idea was mentioned. 

I enjoyed making a Krathong with my tutor class. Fortunately there were quite a few Thai girls willing to help me and thankfully to make the design they showed me it wasn't too difficult. I took my Krathong home and my husband and I headed to an area of water where we had been told there was a Loy Krathong celebration happening. Some of the Krathongs were phenomenal and put my efforts to shame. A few people came in traditional clothing, but most didn't. Many purchased Krathongs and some borrowed scissors to cut their nails and put the pieces on the Krathong before letting it float away so that they were really letting something old go!

Watching the Krathongs float on the water I did begin to think that perhaps it is not the most eco friendly tradition as they use pins to attach the banana leaves and then there are the candles and the incense. Considering they were being floated on a lake I'm hoping that someone was employed to collect them rather than leaving them to decompse and cause issues in the water.

My Thai Kitchen

Once upon a time I really enjoyed cooking. I loved baking more than cooking, but I did enjoy it. When we lived in NZ and my husband worked shifts I'd often spend a few hours at the weekend preparing meals for the week and filling the fridge and freezer so that we didn't have to worry or resort to take away. In China my husband took over the cooking and did a fabulous job. Here in Thailand neither of us cooks any more. Seems somewhat ironic after I was so excited about having a western style kitchen.

Initially we were cooking lots and going for the occasional meal at the local restaurant. Our local restaurant is essentially open on all sides with a roof of some description. We affectionately refer to it as "the shack". We were shopping at the wholesale supermarket, the local market and the fancy supermarket to get everything we needed and spending quite a lot of money. We did some calculations and worked out that we could eat out cheaper than cooking. 

I'm fortunate enough to get a free lunch at school and so only want a snack in the evening. At least once a week I will go to "the shack" and get a mango or papaya salad for 50Baht. My husband doesn't get school lunch, but instead goes to one of the many restaurants near us each day and has a meal and a drink for around 100Baht. We now spend less than half of what we were originally spending on food by not cooking. It makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. I will continue to allow my cooking skills to decline, enjoying the owner of one of our regulars trying to teach me Thai, and won't be hosting any dinner parties any time soon.

Wat Thepwanaram

Wat Thepwanaram is the nearest temple to my house. It's adjacent to Phuket's wakeboard park and I am yet to see a wakeboarding monk. I live in hope!

When traveling around asia we have often found ourselves staying near mosques and have consequently been woken every morning by the Muezzin's call to prayer. Living by a temple you deal with something rather different. At 5:00 every morning the buddhist monks begin to pray. Their prayers are in the form of a chant on a single pedal note and overtime you begin to hear the overtones. My new alarm clock is totally free, if a little early. They pray several times throughout the day and always at sundown. I'll often be in the pool when they do their evening prayers and it is such a lovely sound to hear drifting through the air. Despite the fact that they wake me up it really is quite peaceful and calming. Far better than hearing the rush of traffic that never ends. I am somehow became accustomed to the noise of the traffic in China, but this peace is bliss.

There are many temples in Phuket and we do like to visit them. Wat Thepwanaram was the first temple that we visited. It doesn't draw big trouist crowds as it doesn't have a particularly large, diferent or special Buddha so it is often very quiet. The entrance from the main road is marked by the usual stunning arch painted white, gold, red, green and other strong bright colours. The temple is a little further back from the road than most others, but is not an enormous distance. 

There are 4 decorated ornate buildings at Wat Thepwanaram as well as a the monks housing. The temples are covered in gold and bright colours that are a huge contrast to the stark white walls. The ornamentation and cratsmanship is really quite beautiful and despite the perhaps ostentatious use of colour it is not so gaudy as you might think. It is somehow peaceful. 

 One fascinating piece outside the prayer hall is a Madame Tussaud's likeness of a monk. We saw lots of smaller creations like this when we were in Cambodia in an art gallery where we were told that they were likenesses of deceased monks. The skill in these is absolutely incredible as they are just so life like.

The temple appears to be a haven for street dogs and cats alike. Numerous animals find shade and kindness inside the temple walls. A local vet often goes around the temples vaccinating the animals that make their home there too. We always see snoozy furry friends here.

Monks are a wonderful flash of colour around Phuket. Their orange robes stand out against all the other colours. I love to see them just living life. They aren't in a closed order so they go out and visit people and different temples. They catch the local bus or get a ride on a relatives motorbike. They are a part of the community and somehow their presence is very reassuring.

Huge thanks to Mr. Orangedog Photography for the pictures.

House Hunting in Phuket

The last time we were house hunting in a country where we didn't speak the language we were given an agent who ferried us around until we finally picked somewhere to live. We never met the landlord or spoke to them directly at all and we lived there for 2 years. This time it has been a very different experience. 

I am currently sat on what was the outdoor sofa which is now residing in the lounge (I'll explain later) and the rainy season has caught up with us forcing me away from the pool. We arrived in Phuket less than 3 weeks ago and within the first week we found somewhere to live. We gave ourselves 2 weeks and managed to do it in 1. As mentioned we didn't have an agent and this initially seemed somewhat bothersome. I had been directed to a couple of sites to search and get ideas and we were pretty sure we knew where we were going.

From all of our research we discovered a couple of housing communities close to school with a tiny gym and pool. They even had a hot yoga studio on site and this really appealed to me. I loathe the drive to school. It includes the busiest road, the silly blocked off roundabout and 2 U-turns. The fact that we only want to have 1 car also meant that living near school would be good for Adam as I could leave him with the car. 

School advised us to basically drive around Phuket and go into housing areas, look for "for rent" signs and phone the number. We started near school and called a few numbers. The houses were generic and quite cramped with hideous, cheap, white flat pack furniture. The pool was practically a paddling pool and the gym had 2 treadmills, 2 elepticals, a small amount of weights and room for a stick insect to walk behind them. Also, every house was over budget and we weren't in love. No cafe, restaurant or beach in walking distance at all. 

The search continued with an agent sending us photos of a house that was a little over budget with its own pool that looked incredible. We set up a viewing and it was quite a shock. There were about 20 tiles missing from the pool, the roof of the gazebo was still bare building paper on the inside, the kitchen cupboards were hanging off, the furniture was covered in cat hair and was horribly aged, beaten and uncared for. The location was a random side road just off my most hated road with maye another house somewhere down there. Pretty isolated.

Continuing on we drove into a housing complex next to Wat thep wanaram and Anthem Wakepark. It's about 15 minutes to school and 5-10minutes to the nearest beach. We drove round and found a house for rent. Sadly it was already taken, but the agent said they could show us another in the same compound the next day. We continued checking out the houses and found another for rent. It was still available and the landlord lived a 1 minute walk away. Hideous bar in the kitchen, bizarre cupcake bed covers in the guest bedroom, oversized lounge furniture, an oven, pool, and some shocking paint used on the gate and all trimmings in the house. Not as overbudget and a good location with lots of roadside reataurants in walking distance, not to mention the wakepark being walking distnce.

It turned the agent wanted to show us the house we had seen with the landlord and charge a higher price in rent. So, instead of viewing it again with them they took us to a crazy overbudget show home style house with pool in Bangtao. The property was stunning. It was the best house on the block by a long way, perhaps too far. There was a garden opposite that was full of trash and several run down houses. Add the story of a friend of a friends dog sadly not surviving living in Bangtao due some people having very strong beliefs against dogs guided by a religion, this was a no go.

The same agent took us to a beautiful holiday home in Laguna. I stress holiday home. Again it was show home esque with lovely finishes and great attention to detail. Sadly you could only maybe hang 20 shirts up in the master bedroom and there was no other storage. The pool had two sunbeds in single file next to it as that was it for the space outside. This was also the best house on the block and directly outside the front door a neighbouring property had chickens and a rooster scratching around. Despite the locks and doors this tiny pot hole riddled road didn't feel like the right location for this beautiful holiday home.

We were limited on properties due to our Labradoodle and the budget was another issue. The school budget is generous, but you need to spend all of it to get all of it. Basically there is no point in going under budget. Inspired by the "House Hunters International" we decided to have an incredibly staged conversation walking along the beach to make our decision for the imaginary camera crew.

"We've seen X properties. I think we need to start by ruling one out. Which one would you rule out?"

Agree to rule out the same one.

Discuss pros and cons of the remaining properties.

Each state their choice and normally it is the same.

Hug.

So, we decided to negotiate with our one landlord direct property as he had another viewing and we wanted to get in quick! During negotiations we somehow managed to get the best internet package in Phuket thrown in and cable TV saving ourselves 2000THB a month. Not quite sure how, but that was great. We get the pool cleaned 3 times a week too. We were concerned about the furnitre and that has proved negotiable as just today we had the lounge set and obselete TV unit removed. Sadly the bar is not going anywhere.

Arriving Early

I really advocate arriving early to the destination of your new school. More time to pick the right property and vehicle if you need one. More time to work out where to shop. More time to work out how to get around. To me it just makes sense, especially if you have a dog (child replacement with fur).

We chose to arrive in Phuket early. We had to vacate our appartment in Suzhou before the end of June and the we expected the Suzhou Summer to heat up and so decided to leave 5 days after I finished work. At the time I didn't realise that this meant I would be arriving in Phuket before my new school had finished for the year. I got asked to go in for a meeting with my new Head of Department. I landed on the Thursday at 1am and on the Friday I had a meeting at 10am.

This all meant that we had to get the hire car a little earlier. I had to consider my outfit very carefully. Shoulders need to be covered at my new school and no open toed shoes are allowed. I knew that it was a staff only day, but I really didn't want to rock the boat before I'd even started my contract.

With a screenshot of the directions we headed out. I considered Melbourne to be the city of U-turns, but Phuket may actually be the winner of this award. I got really confused that the roundabout has gates blocking some of the junctions meaning that you can't actually use it as a roundabout. I really have no clue what is happening here. It basically causes the need for masses of U-turns. Following 4 U-turns, a slow moving bus and some roadworks we made it to school.

Despite being late and having to then walk into the staffroom in the hopes of spotting my HoD. Thankfully everything went well - phew. My work permit is in process too, hurray! One day closer to being allowed to ship our belongings.

We've had a romantic dinner on the beach for 3 with the Head of Secondary and today we had drinks at a different beach with the Head of Primary and some new and returning teachers. It would appear we aren't the only ones that think being in Phuket during rainy season and don't mind arriving early.

Incidentally, this school leaves you to fend for yourself a lot compared to my previous school in China. I can see that it is easier to fend for yourself here though. We sorted our phone cards quickly and looked after ourselves for our "House Hunters International" style quest, which I will talk about in another highly enlightening blog. We are still working out where to buy food cheaper than eating out, but we'll get there. I know that we'll have everything sorted by the time school starts and that way I will be able to focus fully on the curriculum re-writes. For now I will enjoy the weather, the beach and the Thai food.